I am back! Well, at least for the time being until things get hectic again. It has been one ultra stressful semester. I am barely treading water at work and school. All the commuting back and forth is killing me and my poor Honda. It has been a while since I posted so I figured I better break my hiatus. I've been lazy about posting more than anything. Still baking, once a week or every other week.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
All things Cinnamon
Posted by Kim N at 11:49 PM 0 comments
Labels: rolls, sweet bread, sweets
Friday, August 10, 2007
Zucchini and Mint
It's been a long hiatus. July was an extremely busy month. Relatives over the 4th of July, visited parents twice, and tennis tournament another weekend. Plus, I finished my summer class! Now that I have a little down time before school starts, I've been cooking and baking a ton. As of late, I've been into summer vegetables and fruits. My mother gave me a huge bag of mint and a few very large zucchini so I've been working through these. With the mint, I made Vietnamese spring rolls (fresh, not fried), chicken street kebabs from Flatbreads and Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid (Cookbook snag off of Amazon), and two rounds of Tzatziki sauce. The recipe for the Tzatziki sauce is from the Washington Times compliments of David who saves the food section for me every week. I love this sauce! It's a little thicker than what you would get in Greek restaurant but still tastes great. You can buy the Greek yogurt from Trader Joe's or Whole Foods but go to TJs if there is one near you. The Trader Joe's brand is just as good and cheaper than the Paage brand that both TJs and Whole Foods carry. Recipe says you can serve immediately or marinate for several hours. It taste that much better if you marinate it.
2 cucumbers, seeded, peeled, and grated
Monday, June 18, 2007
Banana Bread
I had some very brown bananas in my fridge that my mother left when she visited over the Memorial Day weekend. Reading my Runner's World magazine on route to Halifax, I came across a recipe for banana bread from Joanne Chang, the pastry chef and owner of the Flour Bakery and Cafe in Boston. It is the best recipe that I have tried yet. For a while I've been making the banana bread from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion cookbook, but I like this much more. The high ratio of bananas to flour makes a very moist bread. I made the low fat version of the recipe which was also provided. I used my Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pan which usually results in a longer baking time. I had to bake it 10 minutes longer than directed. Since I've been on a strudel kick, I made a strudel topping taken from Robin Hood Flour's recipe for Banana Crunch Bread. I substituted the coconut with chopped walnuts. Thank goodness I run! Otherwise, I would not be baking all these goodies.
Flour's Famous Banana Bread
1 2/3 C. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 C. plus 2 tbsp. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 C. vegetable oil (or 1/4 C. vegetable oil and 1/4 C. unsweetened applesauce)
3 1/2 bananas, very ripe, mashed
2 tbsp low-fat sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 C. walnuts, toasted and chopped
Strudel Topping
1/4 C. chopped walnuts
1/4 C. brown sugar, packed
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp butter
Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix all the ingredients for the strudel topping and set aside. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Beat the sugar and eggs with a whisk until light and fluffy. Drizzle in the oil (and add the applesauce for low fat version). Add the bananas, sour cream, and vanilla. Fold in the flour mixture and nuts. Pour batter into a buttered 9 x 4 inch loaf pan and sprinkle with the strudel topping. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Posted by Kim N at 10:42 AM 0 comments
Labels: bread, quick bread, sweet bread
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Cinnamon Puffs
I bought 3 bags of cinnamon mini chips from King Arthur Flour a couple months ago and since have been playing around with recipes. My favorite thing to do with them is to bake cinnamon chip bread with a crunchy topping. I am trying to duplicate the topping from my local Great Harvest Bread Company. Still experimenting. I am also experimenting with different muffin recipes. This recipe is from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion. The recipe doesn't call for cinnamon chips but I thought it would be a good compliment. I substituted buttermilk for the milk which I think produces a more tender muffin. The recipe uses nutmeg which I didn't care for, next time I using cinnamon. I used brown sugar and soft butter for the topping instead of sugar to get a strudel-like topping.
Posted by Kim N at 2:34 PM 0 comments
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Lemon Curd Muffins
Posted by Kim N at 3:55 PM 0 comments
Labels: muffins, sweet bread
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Book Bargain and Chocolate Loaf Cake
I scored a terrific book bargain during my trip in Orlando. I bought a copy of Home Baking by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid at the Borders Outlet store near Walt Disney World for $7.99! I was so excited, I spent that evening combing through the book. I have already marked some of the recipes I want to try. What I love about the book is that most of the recipes are ethnic and there are a wide range of recipes from sweets to breads. The photos are also beautiful.
When I got home the next day I was dying to bake. I wanted to bake the Beirut Tahini Swirls (I have an unopened jar of tahini just wait to be used) but did not have enough time that evening. The swirls will have to wait! So, I settled for a chocolate loaf cake instead. This recipe is from Susan at Farmgirl Fare. It is entitled "Chocolate Cake Emergency". Very simple cake to make. I baked the cake in a Pampered Chef Stoneware Loaf pan which I find tends to take a longer baking time than a standard metallic pan. I had to bump up the baking time by 15 minutes. It is a terrific cake, very moist with a nice chocolaty taste that is not too overpowering. I doctored the recipe slightly and added a 1/4 C. of mini chocolate chips.
Posted by Kim N at 4:53 PM 0 comments
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Campbell's Bacon and Bean Soup
Campbell's Bacon and Bean Soup
2 C. navy beans
6 slices of bacon
3 small to medium carrots diced
3 medium celery stalks, diced
1 small onion, diced
1/2 tsp dry thyme
2 to 4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 oz tomato paste
dash of dried red pepper flakes
6 to 8 C . water
1 ham hock
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Soak beans overnight. Rinse and discard the water. Fry the bacon to a crisp, drain and crumble into small pieces. Saute the carrots, celery, and onions with the garlic until soften. Add the red pepper flakes, tomato paste, and beans. Stir well. Add the water and ham hock. Bring to boil then reduce the heat and simmer until the beans are tender, about 3 hours. Add the balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
Original recipe says to puree 1 to 2 cups of soup and return it to the pot after simmering. I find the soup to be plenty thick so I do not puree any of the soup.
Posted by Kim N at 1:53 PM 2 comments
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Weekend of Baking
Free at Last! I finished my last final on Tuesday so now I can resume a semi-normal life. I told David, my significant other, that I am going to bake (and cook) up a storm the next couple of months (taking a summer class in July). I have a number of recipes from my cookbooks and recipes that I found on the Internet that I want to make.
My baking this weekend started out on the wrong note. David said he missed dessert the other night so I said I would bake him a cake. I decided to bake the "Wacky Cake" as I have been meaning to try it. The "Wacky Cake" is an eggless cake, leavened with baking soda and distilled vinegar. What a disaster! I baked the cake in my new bundt pan that bought a couple of months ago off of Ebay. I mentioned to David after I took the cake out of the oven that it didn't look like it rose much. I made a chocolate ganche frosting for the cake anyway. Later that evening, we had the cake for dessert. Yuck! It was so incredibly dry. We ate the chocolate ganche and tossed the pieces of cake. David ended up eating ice cream for dessert.
I googled "Wacky Cake" this morning and think I know where I went wrong after browsing different versions of the cake. Too much flour, not enough vinegar, or water. I found a recipe on www.epicurious.com that I am going to try next weekend. In the mean time, I cheated and made a Duncan Hines yellow cake with chocolate frosting. No time to make a cake from scratch this morning.
However, I did make a loaf of peanut butter and jelly bread for breakfast. I made the dough in my bread machine. Threw all the ingredients in my bread maker and went out for my morning run. I shaped the bread after my run, allowed it to rise a second time, and bake it. In between I stretched and took a took shower too! This recipe is from Bread Baking with Father Dominic, a PBS show. I don't think it is around anymore (at least not in the DC area). I printed the recipe for the dough off of his website a few years ago. The website doesn't exist anymore either. I modified the recipe slightly by adding jelly and peanut butter chips.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread
3/4 C. luke warm milk
1/4 C. luke warm water (may need a 1 or 2 teaspoons of additional water)
1/3 C. peanut Butter
1 tsp salt
3 C. all-purpose flour 1/3 C. sugar
2 tsp. instant yeast
1/2 C. grape jelly or jam
1/2 C. peanut butter chips
To make the dough:
Bread machine instructions: add the flour, salt, sugar, yeast. Allow to mix for a couple of minutes, add the peanut butter, milk, and water.
By hand: Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a bowl. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes, or until foamy. Stir in the warm milk. Add the sugar, salt, and flour. Stir until you get a soft manageable dough. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 6 to 8 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place in a bowl, cover with a clean cloth, and allow to rise for 1 hour.
After the first rising, roll out the dough into a large rectangle, about 18 X 12 inches. Spread the grape jelly on the dough. Sprinkle with peanut butter chips. Roll the dough tightly until you have a jelly roll shape. Pinch the ends to seal the dough, place the dough seam side down in an oiled 9 x 5 inch pan. I usually roll the dough into 3 small rectangles, roll the rectangles, and form a braided loaf. Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise for 30 minutes in a warm, draft free spot or until double in size. Bake the bread in preheated oven at 350F for 40 minutes.
It is best to allow the loaf to cool before slicing into it.
Posted by Kim N at 3:46 PM
Labels: bread, sweet bread